The SFEPC has just submitted our information for the NAEPC Council of Excellence Award. During this process, we compiled a considerable amount of information, and it was clear that the Board has been active and focused on elevating member experience and strengthening our community. Our 2025-2026 President, Elizabeth Sevilla, wanted to share with you her cover letter that documents this work over the past year.

SFEPC Submission to NAEPC - Elizabeth Sevilla.2026.05.14.pdf

The Sacramento Estate Planning Council Board invites members of the SFEPC to join them for their 2026 Estate Planning Forum on Thursday, May 21. The event is both in-person and virtual. First-time attendees are eligible for a discounted rate. For more information, please visit: https://www.sacepc.org/.

For those of you who attend this regularly, the Northern California Planned Giving Council (NCPGC) has extended the deadline to register for their annual conference to March 31. 

A Message from NCPGC:

This year’s conference centers on the theme “The Future of Philanthropy: Human Values in a Digital Age,” bringing together professionals to explore how innovation and technology are shaping the philanthropic landscape while keeping human connection at the heart of giving.

We are especially excited to welcome our Morning and Luncheon Keynote Speakers, Nicola Lawrence, MSc, MA, MSFP, PgC, CAP®, CFRE and Andrew Fussner—two nationally respected leaders whose expertise spans philanthropy, estate planning, nonprofit leadership, and gift administration.

Good news: the early bird registration deadline has been extended! Register by March 31 to take advantage of special pricing.

We hope you’ll join us for a day of learning, connection, and inspiration. We look forward to seeing you there!

https://www.ncpgcouncil.org/ 

• Speaker: Ric Edelman, CBDA
• Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 3:00pm - 4:00pm ET
• Register for this free webinar

This is a copy of the NAEPC newsletter. If you want to receive more frequent and timely communication about the NAEPC and its educational programming and member benefits, please be sure to subscribe for more frequent communications.

Message from the President

Lawrence J. (Larry) Macklin, CPA, JD, AEP®, 2025 Outgoing President

Dear Members and Friends:

First and foremost, thank you to our remarkable community of estate planning professionals. Your commitment to excellence, collaboration, and ethical practice continues to elevate our profession and strengthen the value of the Accredited Estate Planner® designation.  
Together, we’ve advanced meaningful initiatives, expanded the reach of our programs, and welcomed a record number of new designees into our ranks. The momentum is real, and it is energizing!
 
As we look ahead to 2026, I am excited for what’s to come. With new pathways to the AEP® designation and continued evolution of our educational events, the future of our association is brighter than ever. The torch is ready to be passed, and I am confident that the leadership that follows will guide NAEPC® and our designees into the next chapter with vision and purpose. I welcome those who will be joining in this capacity in the coming year and know your experience with NAEPC will be as gratifying as mine.
 
To every volunteer, committee member, board colleague, event attendee, council leader, and staff member who makes this work possible, your dedication has been both inspiring and humbling. It has been one of the greatest honors of my professional career to serve as your president. 
 
It is with deep sadness that I acknowledge the recent loss of two of our profession’s true luminaries, Alexander A. Bove, Jr. and Clark B. McCleary.  Alexander Bove, a 2014 inductee into the NAEPC Estate Planning Hall of Fame®, practiced law at the Law Offices of Bove and Langa in Boston, MA. He was widely respected as an accomplished author, a passionate educator, and a trusted friend to many in our community. Clark McCleary, inducted into the NAEPC Estate Planning Hall of Fame® in 2006, served as NAEPC’s president in 2012 and was honored with the Hartman Axley Lifetime Service Award in 2024, just months before returning to the board as a director emeritus. Clark will be remembered not only for his remarkable contributions to our profession, but also for his devotion to family, his loyalty to friends both within and outside the estate planning community, and his steadfast, decades-long support of NAEPC.  Both Alexander and Clark leave behind legacies that will continue to inspire and guide our community for years to come, for which I am personally grateful.

Big Changes Ahead for the Annual Conference

You may have been wondering why we’ve been quiet about the 2026 Annual Conference… the wait is over!  NAEPC has been hard at work reimagining the conference experience for leaders in the estate planning community, and we have BIG NEWS for both 2026 and 2027:

• There will not be an in-person Annual Conference in 2026, but we are excited to introduce the ESTATE PLANNERS FORUM in 2027… set for late April/early May on Florida’s West Coast, the reimagined experience will feature:
• • Subject matter aligned with your clients’ needs
  • Reduced registration cost
  • A condensed mid-week schedule designed with busy professionals in mind
  • More free time to cultivate lasting professional and personal relationships

• Continuing the 62-year tradition of educational excellence and during the transition year, NAEPC will offer:
• • Ten complimentary webinars through the Robert G. Alexander Webinar Series
  • Two virtual continuing education conferences:
  • • Tuesday, May 12, 2026 | 12:00 PM – 4:30 PM ET (registration opens soon)
    • Wednesday, October 21, 2026 | 11:30 AM – 4:30 PM ET
  • Three Regional Leadership Day conferences for council leaders and staff executives: June (West coast), August (East Coast), and November (Central)

Please contact us with any questions about these changes. We’re standing by to help.

Sponsorship opportunities will be released shortly.

We are grateful to the many sponsors and exhibitors that allow us to bring the annual conference to our membership each year, including those below. 

2025 Partners

• CIBC Private Wealth
• Glenmede
• Trust & Estates

2025 Directors

• Adapt
• Bridgeford Trust Company
• Commonwealth Savers
• Coventry
• Lafayette life Insurance Company
• Screenfire Estate Law Marketing
• National Care Advisors
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
• South Dakota Trust Company
• Valbridge Property Advisors

Accredited Estate Planner® Designation News

2025 marked a record-breaking year for the Accredited Estate Planner® (AEP®) program. The oversight committee remained hard at work managing administrative responsibilities while also taking a strategic and forward-thinking look at the program’s future. Here’s a snapshot of what you may have missed:

• A record number of qualified new applicants joined the community
• Meaningful growth occurred within the accounting, philanthropic, and trust disciplines
• The number of Estate Planning Councils participating in the council nomination program doubled
• Several national firms enhanced their support of the designation program

Looking ahead, here’s a preview of two key developments coming in 2026:

• The Accredited Trust Fiduciary Advisor (ATFA) certification, administered through the Campbell University Lundy-Fetterman School of Business, is now recognized as a qualifying credential for the AEP® designation
• Individuals who earned a Juris Doctor, passed a state bar examination, were duly licensed to practice law by a state supreme court, have no disciplinary history, and who voluntarily elected inactive status may apply for the AEP® designation

It’s official… 2026 has been declared the “Year of the AEP® Designee, Chapter Two” by incoming president David Green! If you’ve been considering joining the ranks of leaders in the estate planning community who hold the Accredited Estate Planner® designation, there’s no better time to begin your journey. Start today!

Member Benefits

Opportunities to Save

As an AEP® designee or council member, you have access to benefits spanning a range of categories.  Look today to make sure you’re not leaving an opportunity to save behind!

We are excited to announce two brand new benefits!

ProtectHeir

ProtectHeir offers an award-winning solution to guard estates against deceased identity theft. Our online executor tool quickly generates notifications to over 70 institutions—helping prevent identity theft and estate fraud—then provides you with timely executor contact information at the time of settlement.

Developed by credit industry professionals, ProtectHeir is a safe, fast, and affordable service that makes estate protection simple for clients and advisors alike.

Features & Benefits for NAEPC Members

• Streamlines estate settlement with personalized notifications to credit bureaus, banks, government agencies, social media platforms, and more—saving executors weeks of work.
• Takes just 15 minutes to complete, offering fast peace of mind.
• Automatically shares executor contact info with the referring advisor.
• Creates a natural opportunity to support heirs and manage estate transitions.
• Helps financial planners retain assets and build lasting multigenerational relationships.
• A powerful marketing tool to attract new clients and spark meaningful conversations.
• Secure, compliant, and easy to use—no digital vaults, no need for clients to pre-enter information, and no sensitive PII required.

For more information and exclusive NAEPC pricing (up to 50% off), visit: https://www.protectheir.net/naepc

Quorum Legacy Solutions

Quorum Legacy Solutions helps estate planners manage clients' digital assets inheritance securely without taking custody of the assets. First, a client's private key or seed phrase is encrypted, then divided into pieces using Shamir's Secret Sharing. These pieces are given to trusted parties such as the estate planner, executor, or family members. No single piece is enough to access the assets, but when the required number are combined, the key can be restored. This allows estate planners to hold a piece for a client without holding the full key or the crypto itself, reducing liability while ensuring heirs can access the assets when needed.

See benefits by category:

• Educational Opportunities
• NAEPC-Provided Benefits
• Subscriptions and Publications
• Programs and Services for Council Development
• Marketing and Website Design Services
• Software
• Presentation Materials and Office Supplies
• Complimentary Resources
• Discipline-Specific Information
• Other Benefits, Programs & Services

A shout out to Elizabeth Sevilla, EA, CLU, CHFC, AEP, who recently received her Accredited Estate Planner® designation (AEP®) from the National Association of Estate Planning Councils. Congratulations, Elizabeth!

The AEP® is a mark of distinction reserved for professionals who demonstrate exceptional expertise, collaboration, and commitment to the team approach that defines high-impact estate planning. It is only held by those who spend at least one-third of their professional work in estate planning. It recognizes not only technical mastery, but also the integrity and partnership that help clients achieve meaningful, lasting legacies.

When asked to comment on this achievement, Elizabeth said, "It isn't a cliche that collaboration is the key to success when working with clients' futures. Collaboration is essential, and it's how the strongest professionals I know do their best work." She also mentioned how important collaboration was as a leadership skill, and that participation in organizations like the SFEPC turns networking into true collaboration and competitive advantage for forward-thinking planners.

Learn more about the AEP®: https://lnkd.in/euQNVRBs

On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to announce that the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (NAEPC) has named our chapter as an "Emerging Council," one of three Council Excellence awards granted by the NAEPC. This means that our chapter's programming, leadership, and member engagement is exemplary.

Council Excellence awards are based on a number of factors, including membership size, ratios of different professionals within the membership, growth goals and metrics, quality of programming, attendance numbers at meetings and events, internal operations and processes, fiscal management, and board composition, among others. There are 270+ recognized councils across the U.S., and each one operates independently. We will be formally recognized in the October NAEPC Council Leadership Conference in Washington, DC.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge the dedication of the past presidents and board members, for without their leadership such high regard would not have been possible. Thank you for making SFEPC an amazing resource for our community.

Elizabeth Sevilla, SFEPC President 2025-2026